 Dear families,
I am delighted to share with you the classroom organisation for classes for September. We have a very exciting year ahead of us as we drive forwards and work together towards an outstanding future for all our children.
Phase Leadership will be divided into the following three groups.
Army of Ants is the Transition Phase and this includes Nursery, Reception and Year 1. The Head of this phase will be Donna Barker
Pride of Lions is the Middle Phase and this includes Year 2 and Year 3 and the Head of this phase will be Lisa Gagen
Wolf Pack is the Upper Phase and this includes Y4/Y5 and Y6 and the Head of this phase will be Kathy Smith.
Classes will be taught as follows:
- Nursery-Kerry Ollivant
- Reception-Tracy Newton
- Year 1- Donna Barker
- Year 2- Lisa Gagen
- Year 3- Anna Barron
- Year 4- Sam Barton
- Year 5- Dan Cooper
- Year 6-Kathy Smith
Please join me in congratulating Claire Ward as she is to have a baby in December. She will be covering some classes until she goes on maternity leave.
Should you wish to discuss anything with me don’t hesitate to make an appointment through the school office.
Many thanks for your continued support!
Nic Thorpe-Executive Principal
School Holiday Dates 2016-17
term-and-holiday-dates-2016-2017
 DATES 2016 – 17 click to enlarge for printing Dear Families
For your information, here are the holiday dates for the rest of the school academic year 2016-2017. All dates are inclusive.
- Easter Holidays Saturday 8th April 2017 – Monday 24th April 2017
- May Bank Holiday Monday 1st May 2017
- Spring Bank Half Term Holiday Saturday 27th May 2017 – Sunday 4th June 2017
- Summer Holiday Friday 21st July 2017 – Tuesday 5th September 2017
Below is a break-down to explain the holiday dates shown above:
- Friday 7th April 2017: Last day of Spring Term 2
- Monday 24th April 2017: INSET day School closed to children
- Tuesday 25th April 2017: First day of Summer Term 1
- Monday 1st May 2017: Bank Holiday School Closed
- Friday 26th May 2017: Last day of Summer Term 1
- Monday 5th June 2017: First day of Summer Term 2
- Friday 21st July 2017: Last day of Summer Term 2. Early Finish at 1:30pm.
- Monday 4th September 2017: INSET day school closed to children
- Tuesday 5th September 2017: INSET day school closed to children
- Wednesday 6th September 2017: First day of Autumn Term 1 2017
Please take note that there is a change to an INSET day communicated on our Term Date Cards previously circulated. To confirm, school will now be open on Wednesday 4th January 2017 and closed on Monday 24th April 2017.
If you have any questions about this information, please do not hesitate to contact me here at school.
School Holiday Dates 2017-18
NOTE: ADDITIONAL SCHOOL CLOSURE DATES
 DATES 2017 -18 click to enlarge for printing holiday-dates-2017-18
Dear parents and carers,
On behalf of the Bank End and Hunningley Primary School Governors, I would like to inform you that both schools will close two days earlier than initially planned at the end of the summer term. The schools will close on Friday 21st July. The decision to close has not been taken lightly and made for the following reasons:
- Both Horizon and Barnsley Academy will be closed and therefore all Y6 children are expected to return to their primaries. Last year this was the case and only two children returned meaning that 70 children had unauthorised absences for two days.
- To support building and maintenance work being done in both schools.
- To give staff additional training
In order to give you advance notice of school closure dates for 2017/2018 on the reverse of this letter there are the dates for the Barnsley School Holidays. Additional school closure days for staff training will be:
Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th September 2017
Friday 22nd December 2017
Monday 4th June 2018
Monday 23rd July 2018
Please put these in your diary or on your calendar.
Many thanks for your continued support,
Nic Thorpe
Executive Headteacher-The Bank End and Hunningley Partnership
It was lovely to see our art work on display at the country fair, we felt really proud of our entries. Fingers crossed we’ve got a winner ! 
… making panda pictures from natural materials. We were so proud to see them collaborating with each other in their groups as they worked out which materials to use and where best to put them. Brilliant team work year 4!
Today in Early years we celebrated the end of our topic ‘Ship Ahoy’ by bringing the seaside to Bank End and what a day we had. The children were so excited when the arrived at school and saw donkeys on our playground. They had so much fun at all the activities we had including; a candy floss cart, face paints, ice cones, bouncy castle, ice creams, picnic and much more. The smiles on their faces were beaming, Well done Reception and Nursery all your hard work this term has made us super proud.
Wow! What a fantastic end to this week. I always think we have such busy weeks but this week has definitely won so far. We started off the week with the Summer fare, where children and families came into school to enjoy activities and stalls as a community. Wednesday was Early years sports day and the families supported this so well, children enjoyed every minute and worked so hard to show off their skills.
Thursday was the first of our transitions for older Nursery children to meet Miss Newton properly and ask her lots of questions about being in her Reception class next year. The children were so well behaved and asked some real good questions about toys, areas and lunch time.
Friday in Early Years we started the day with a little rain, which luckily soon stopped and we all had such a fantastic day for our superstar reward day. Donkeys, a bouncy castle, along with sweet treats, paddling pools and game fun were just some of the experiences for our youngest children in School. I am so proud of how they listened and chose activities independently on the key stage 1 playground, they really were a true credit to Bank end.
Thank you to all the children and staff for their hard work in preparation for and on this day. It really has been fabulous!
All children who had earned 1200 points came back to school on Thursday for lots of fun!
There was face painting, ice creams, baking, crafts, popcorn, sports and lots and lots of smiles! A great time was had by all.
Well Done everyone.
Year 5 had a fantastic time last week with the Bikeability course! Glorious weather enabled most of the class to have a great time learning how to control the bike on the playground for Level 1, including how to start and stop safely and control the bike safely. Level 2 involves controlling the bike on the estate such as turning left and right. Everybody enjoyed themselves immensely!
…we have looked at how we can be a ‘safeguarding superhero’ and what we can do in school to keep each other safe and happy. We used the book ‘Rainbow Fish’ by Marcus Pfister to drive forward British Values; the four British values introduced to keep children safe and promote their welfare are: Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance. The book is best known for it’s morals about the value of being an individual; which fits in perfectly with Mutual Respect and Tolerance, the Rainbow Fish also learnt that being kind and sharing can make you happy which links to Democracy and Individual Liberty. During our Literacy sessions we researched each value and what we do in school to underpin them.
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09/07/17 Sports Day
Don’t forget that tomorrow is Sports Day and all children should come to school in their PE kits. If PE kits have been left at school for any reason, they can change into them when they arrive.
Mrs Thorpe
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26/06/17 SPORTS DAY CANCELLED
Good morning families,
Whilst it is a lovely morning today, the rest of the week is forecast to get colder and more rainy. Barnsley Academy have contacted me to say the field will not be fit for Sports Day on Wednesday with the forecast as it stands.
I really do not want to mess you around any further so my plan is to have out own Sports Event at the start of the Summer Fayre in the afternoon. We will get all the details out to you, so watch out for a letter from me by the end of the week, but we are thinking of 1pm-2pm sporting fun, then 2pm-3pm Summer Fayre.
Hope that works for you all.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs Thorpe
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04/06/17 Welcome Back
Good morning,
Only one more sleep until we open our doors for the final half term. Children will need to bring their PE kits tomorrow as we are rehearsing for Sports Day. Reading books and book bags need to continue to be returned daily so that we can continue our drive to improve reading for all children.
There will be an additional 25 BRAVO points for all children who:
Are dressed smartly in full uniform
Have their book and book bag
Remember their PE kits
There will be no other homework sent out this half term to give families more time to read and relax with their children.
Have a wonderful, sunny Sunday!
See you tomorrow,
Mrs Thorpe
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28/02/17 The School Office
Good morning families,
Our new office staff are working hard to do a fantastic job running the school reception area. However, their job is being made much trickier by the large number of parents coming to request an early pick up for their child or children. So, I wanted to remind you that it is not necessary or acceptable to drop off late or pick up early unless you have a prior arrangement with myself.
Please do not ask for an early pick up unless you have a letter detailing a medical appointment. You must wait for your child(ren) at the usual pick up points outside the school building.
Every minute of the school day is used to good effect and it really important that all children get fair access to it every bit of it.
Please help us to get it right for all our children, families and staff. A massive thank you to the large percentage of you who only ever do the right thing. Much appreciated!
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13/01/17 Friday 13th January 2017
School is open today. All staff are in and ready to welcome your children. Breakfast club is open from 8 and classrooms will be open from 8.30. Please wrap your children up nice and warm and make sure they’re in appropriate footwear in case it becomes safe enough to play out later.
If anything was to change we would post on here and on the School Facebook Page to keep you updated.
Thank you
Miss Barker
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05/01/17 Library
Please note there will be no Library in school this week. Library re-opens on Friday 13th January 2017 at 2:30pm as normal. We will look forward to seeing you then.
Miss Barker
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12/12/16 MESSAGE FOR NURSERY TO YEAR 3 PARENTS
We have an overwhelming amount of families wanting to see the Nativity in School tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, we have no tickets left. Space will be limited and some standing room needing to be used. For those families without tickets we are going to put on an additional performance tomorrow morning at 10:15am as our dress rehearsal. Also, any families with tickets for the afternoon who would be happy to attend in the morning instead to balance out numbers would also be welcome and appreciated! Please respond via facebook or phoning school to notify us if you would like to attend in the morning.
Thank you for your support
Miss Barker
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12/12/16 The Spirit of Christmas
The Spirit of Christmas-Organisation
Dear families,
Here are the final organisational plans regarding the performance at Barnsley Academy.
On both Tuesday (dress rehearsal) and Wednesday (performance) children need to be at school on time by 8:50 at the latest. They will be registered and leave for Barnsley Academy at 9am. All children need packed lunches and a couple of drinks for both days.
Children will be picked up or go home from Bank End not from Barnsley Academy at 3:30pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Children should be dropped off on Wednesday at Barnsley Academy at 5pm.
Children can be picked up from Barnsley Academy on Wednesday at 7:15pm from the KS3 playground that faces the car park. If you have difficulty in arranging to pick up your child, please contact me through Facebook or on n.thorpe@bankend.org and we can make arrangements to support you.
Once again, thank you so much for your continued support, I look forward to seeing you there.
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06/12/16 Tuesday 6th December 2016
Home Time today will be the slightly later time of 3:15pm to allow children to return to school from The Barnsley Academy after the Christmas Pantomime. Thank you for your cooperation and support. Miss Barker
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28/11/16 Christmas Disco
Good morning families,
Today after school we will be selling tickets for our Christmas Disco on Thursday. Please enter the building through any of the external doors to purchase tickets at £2 each from the school hall.
I look forward to seeing you there,
Mrs Thorpe
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17/11/16 Children in Need
We can’t wait to see your children in their spotty clothes tomorrow in support of Children in Need. Remember, children can pay £1 to wear their spots and there will be buns on sale in school for 50p. Children can also enter the Children in Need Bake Off for 50p. All entries should be brought to the hall before the start of school.
See you then!
Miss Barker
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09/11/16 WE ARE OPEN
Good morning families,
We have got up extra early and traveled over hills, moors and motorways to open Bank End for all our children today. Please make sure that you send your children in warm clothes and suitable foot ware.
Mrs Thorpe
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01/11/16 The Gift of Time
Give the Gift of Time
Dear families,
Today your child will bring home a very important letter. Please look out for it and make sure that you sign and send back the slip attached to the bottom of it. Children should hand in the slip to their class teachers.
This year in the run up to Christmas we want to increase every child’s reading scores…we need to work in partnership to do this by giving all our children the time that they deserve to read, learn and grow.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs Thorpe
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30/10/16 School Photographs
Good afternoon all,
Tomorrow it is school photographs for children. For families with children below the age of Nursery who would like to have a family photograph, please arrive at the hall for 8:30. All other family photographs will be organised in school time for children who are in the provision from Nursery to Y6.
Also, please can I take this opportunity to remind all families that children should be in full uniform tomorrow including black school shoes, their PE kits and their Reading Bags and books?
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mrs Thorpe
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02/10/16 Routines
Just a quick reminder to say please remember to give dinner monies, milk monies and top-ups in a named envelope to the class teacher to support us with the efficient running of the school. Many thanks.
Mrs Thorpe
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14/09/16 School Library
Our library re-opens on Friday at 2.30pm. Please come to the main school entrance to join your child and choose from a great selection of books.
Mrs Thorpe
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09/09/16 You are Amazing!
A great big thank you to all our families for the outstanding attendance we have across school today. You are amazing!
Miss Barker
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30/06/16 Y6 Leavers Assembly
Dear parents and carers of Year 6. I look forward to seeing you in our leavers assembly tomorrow morning at 9am. Coffee and tea will be served from 8:45 so please feel free to join us from that time. Hankies at the ready! best wishes Mrs Thorpe
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28/06/16 School Performance
Tomorrow is our School Performance led by our wonderful year 6. The morning performance starts at 9:30am and afternoon at 1:30pm. Please arrive at Main Reception with your tickets promptly for these times. There will be a raffle and refreshments available so bring a little spending money if you wish!
We look forward to seeing you then and can’t wait for you to see your amazing children take to the stage.
Miss Barker
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21/06/16 Relationship Education
Dear Year 6 families,
To complete our learning about relationships we want to invite our children to bring into school their baby photographs so that we can have a ‘Beautiful Baby Competition’. We promise to look after them carefully.
Thanks so much for your support with this matter,
Mrs Thorpe
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